#324 MADELMAN 2050 – TARANTULA (Ref. 1705) (1988)

This vehicle was 1 of the 6 vehicles available during the first wave of Exin’s toyline: Madelman 2050. Since the second wave was only partially released, the vehicles from wave 1 were re-packed and sold in the second wave (similarly to what happened with the figures in the first wave). The new packages looked much more modern as I already explained here.

Now let’s take a look at the box of the toy, and let’s see which other vehicles were available during wave 2.

These illustrations can be found on the back of the box of the Tarantula. It shows the complete assortment of figures and vehicles that were planned to be sold in the second wave of M2050. It was already commented in an older entry, that not all the figures were actually manufactured, but in the case of the vehicles, they were all available in extremely limited releases. I have seen all of them except the Skytron and the Phantox, but the existence of these two has also been confirmed by ex-workers from Exin.

HOMBRES C.O.T.A.
Sentinel (Ref. 1700)
Tarantula (Ref. 1701)
Clonstar (Ref. 1702) - NEW
Skytron (Ref. 1703) - NEW
Defender (Ref. 1750)
Transcom (Ref. 1650) - NEW

ZARKONS
Batrus (Ref. 1726)
Falcon (Ref. 1727)
Montrax (Ref. 1728) - NEW
Scorpion (Ref. 1751)
Dragotrak/Anfitron (Ref. 1760) - NEW
Phantox (Ref. 1670) – NEW

Clonstar and Dragotrak/Anfitron are the most common from the new vehicles, and also the most surprising and innovative ones.
The Clonstar is the first and only vehicle in the toyline to include drivers, but also the first one to include many chromed parts, including the chromed body. The ball has four practicable parts that can be separated: two parts are attached to the backs of the figures, and the other two houses two recon-vehicles.
Dragotrak/Anfitron are two vehicles in one, and it the only one that can be controlled remotely. The vehicle has a quite impressive size.

The other 4 vehicles are much rarer. It is quite interesting that two reference numbers are slightly different from the rest: there are two 16xx references (Transcom and Phantox), which correspond to the smallest vehicles in the range. Maybe Exin had planned a low cost line of vehicles.
Montrax is also a very small vehicle, while the Skytron has a medium size, and reuses parts of the first 6 vehicles. From all new six, is the most likely to have belonged to the first wave.

But back to the Tarantula, this vehicle takes its name from the famous spider. The vehicle, as the spider, has a central body, with two claws and 4 legs (the spiders have 2 fangs and 8 legs). It also has many cables and antennas, similarly to the other vehicle already presented in this blog: Batrus.

These are the claws of the vehicle.

 The body has place for one figure and a small place to store weapons.

 On the rear part of the body, the "spider" has a spring loaded hook, what adds great playability to the toy.
 

This image shows the lower part of the vehicle. Note that the feet are actually (almost) flat pads. The hole in the middle is to fix the toy to the box with the plastic tab below.

This last picture show the contents of the box: additional cables, antennas, unapplied stickers, the quality control sheet and the mini-comic (keep reading).

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: TARANTULA (Ref. 1701)
• Toy Line: Madelman 2050 (Wave 1)
• Year: 1988
• Company: Exin (Spain)
• Size: Around 24 cm long from claws to hook

As an annex, I include here all pages from mini-comic "¡Combate!", second mini-comic out of 5 released. The titles for the comics are:

• LA INVASIÓN DE LOS ZARKON
• ¡COMBATE!
• LA PUERTA DEL VOLCÁN
• BASERTRON 2050 
• EL CUARTEL INFERNAL

#323 RICO - SUPERBÓLIDO-RICO (Around 1975)

This toy belongs to the same category than the previous motorbike by Payá. Both were made more or less at the same time in the same village by rival enterprises: Rico and Payá.

The car represents the Marlboro Team Texaco McLaren MP23 from the 1974 F1 season. The championship was won by Emerson Fittipaldi driving this car (real model had RN 5).

Rico reproduced the model probably the following year (1975), although in other colours and decorations, this toy would be available during a few more consecutive years. I have seen models with “Martini Racing” (RN: 3, in white) and “John Player Special” (RN: 3, in black and yellow, this one is radio-controlled) decorations. Rico made other interesting cable-controlled cars in big scale, like a famous Mercedes Benz 450 SE or the impressive Porsche 928.

This model should not be mistaken by an earlier model, which is narrower and can be identified by an older, less aerodynamic air intake over cockpit. All of them are made mostly of plastic, but the body is made of tin.

 

The driving mechanism is the same from the motorbike. The wheel on the control handle pulls from a cable  that turns the wheels in one direction. That’s why, in normal position, wheels are turned completely in one direction. The handle also comes with four buttons, but unfortunately, I haven’t tested it.

The driver is well done, and the helmet can be opened and closed revealing the face of the driver. The next picture shows the nice cockpit with windshield, helmet, the body of the driver and the mirrors. Note also the air intake.

The base of the car is rather flat, with some curving simulating car transmission and direction.

Wheels are very nice, with realistic rims and Good Year racing tyres. Among the brands used in the body of the car are Marlboro, Texaco, S.E.V. Marchal, Rico, Goodyear, STP, Champion, Cibie, Gulf and Tudor. Many of these were not in the real car.

Sorry for the bad quality of the pictures, I took them for other purposes than showing them here in the blog.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: SUPERBÓLIDO RICO (Ref. 3172)
• Year: Around 1975
• Company: Rico (Spain)
• Size: Around 60 cm.

#322 PAYÁ - MOTO HONDA (Ref. 3172) (Around 1975)

This motorbike made by the Spanish toymaker Payá was made in several versions, all of them made by the mid 70s. If you try to search for any of those versions, you’ll probably find people say it is from the 60s, but this is not the case.

The first cable controlled toy in Spain was the famous Citroën 19 DS “Tiburón”, made by Payá in 1964. This toy was the first toy ever to have a television advertisement in Spain, and it was a great sales success back then. Most competitors tried to get similar models in the following years, so there are a lot of cable controlled cars made in Spain during the 70s. And old of them are huge! Rico had quite a few, Payá, Jyesa… These cars and vehicles can be seen now in auction sites and other places for very low prices. Most people don’t want them because of the space they need to keep them.

I own this toy with its original package, so we can take a look at it. The box is rather big and includes a different photograph on each side, so one box fits all models. One side shows the “Police” version, the other side the “Honda” version.

In one of the small sides, we can read:

Moto Policía

3176 – Friction Mechanism

3177 – Electric directed with winking light effects and real siren at will

3178 – Electric clears obstacles with winkers

Moto Honda

3171 – Careened Friction Mechanism

3172 – Electric Directed with electric headlight

The above remarks are written in three languages: Spanish, English and French. At this time, Payá exported part of their production, and France was one of the main markets for this and other Spanish toymakers. Maybe the English words do not exactly mean what they should, but I think it is still understandable.

 

The flap and the second small side show pictures of each reference, with some photographic effects to show the lights, sounds or the friction motor.

Interestingly enough, the toy inside the box does not match the reference pictured in the box, because it cames with that black “mask”, that belongs to the Policia models and should be there. My guess there, is that the toy changed a bit with the years, and after some time, produced models didn’t match the pictured models anymore. Another difference, is that the blinkers and not the headlights shine.

The box still has its inlay, and is in very good shape.

The motorbike is mostly made of plastic, although there's some parts made of tin (the gas tank and the part behind the seat). The driver is made entirely in plastic, although this plastic is different from the one used in the motorbike. The structure of the motorbike is the same for all references we commented above, so my motorbike has a hole in case it was used to mount a friction motor.

The simulated motor is chromed. Together with other chromed parts (mudguard, headlight, wheels) makes the motorbike look great.

The figure doesn’t look that great. Plastic is poorer than expected, and the helmet looks quite funny. The face of the driver is simple a sticker.

The wheel rims are superdetailed and chromed. The tyres are made of soft plastic

The controller is quite simple. It comes with a steering wheel that pulls from a cable to make the motorbike turn.The toy worked with 3 batteries (4,5 V) and also included two buttons for forward or reverse.

Front are rear views:

The motorbike is also in a good played condition, but I didn’t test it yet. As we bought it, the handles were separated from the body, because a plastic part had broken. It was repaired, and the direction is working.

FACTS AND FIGURES:

• Name: MOTO HONDA (Ref. 3172)
• Year: Around 1975
• Company: PAYÁ (Spain)
• Size: Around 40 cm.

#321 MEXICAN WRESTLERS – LUCHADORES MEXICANOS (From 1980 on)

By the end of the fifties, and because of the invention of the television, wrestling had a “golden age” in many parts of the World. I have heard many references to wrestling nights in Madrid, where the actors usually adopted an English-sounding name. Many of the wrestlers were retired boxers (boxing was also very popular back then).

But that’s nothing compared to Mexican wrestling. There, wrestling was a popular entertainment much earlier. They improved and brought new elements to the game, and I am not talking about the masks, I am talking about new good vs. evil plots, background of each wrestler developed in a way to make children feel sympathy (or the opposite) for them. This storytelling would be made perfect in the late 80s by the American WWF. The Mexican folklore is also present in this kind of show with wrestlers like “El Santo” (The Saint) or “Demonio Azul” (Blue Demon), clear references to a religious background, or Mexican traditions like the “Day of the Dead” with those flower altars and skulls.

These two figures could be the "Blue Demon" and "The Saint"

It all started much earlier, maybe as early as 1900. At the time wrestling was organized locally, but in 1933 a man named Salvador Lutteroth founded the first national organization to promote wrestling and draw the best wrestlers from each city or region. This organization was called: Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, where “Lucha Libre” is of course the Spanish word for “wrestling”. After a few years, and with the deployment of television in homes, the enterprise was able to reach millions of people, making the sport more and more popular and creating the first superstars.

Wrestlers became very famous. In Mexico, some wrestlers, like “El Santo: el Enmascarado de Plata” (The Saint: Silver Masked), “El Demonio Azul” (The Blue Demon), “Mil Máscaras” (Thousand Masks), or “Gory Guerrero”. Each had its particular gimmick and became popular for one reason or the other. Some invented movements, other made great exploits, other were simply very charismatic, some were life-long rivals…

The most famous, however, was “El Santo”, whose carrier spans over 5 decades (premiere 1942). He made a lot of movies, where he always fought for justice, and he was the main characters in numerous comic books, graphic novels, books, magazines…

According to this great article by Delia Madrigal, there are almost 300 mexican movies starred by wrestlers, being the first ones filmed in 1952. The movies were a little bit like the shows: good vs. evil were the defenders of the law hide (often, but not always) behind a mask. Some of those movies were a really bizarre mixture of comedy, drama and science-fiction. Just a few titles starred by “El Santo”:

• Santo contra los hombres infernales (1958) (“against hell’s men”) 
• Santo contra el cerebro del mal (1958) (“against the brain of evil”) 
• Santo contra los zombies (1961) (“against the zombies”)
• Santo contra las mujeres vampiro (1962) (“against the vampire women”) 
• Santo contra la mafia del vicio (1970) (“against the vice mafia”)

It was just a matter of time that toy figures would be manufactured. During the 70s, the first figures were around 14 cms high, and they were made in two different versions: the first one was the figure with one hand up, and the other down, just like the figures in this article. The second version had both hands up. These two gestures were respectively “The Saint” and “Blue Demon” in the cover of and old magazine called “Box y Lucha”.

Every figure is a little piece of art, since they’re hand painted, and therefore unique. They were never high quality figures, look at all those rough edges.

Some of the figures included cloaks, which were made of plastic bags. If any figure brought that cloak but has been played, the cloak is guaranteed to be broken and missing.

In the 80s, the figure were adapted and reduced. The new casts made figures of 10 cms height. They were marked in the head. These days, figures are around 8,5 cms and are still being manufactured in Mexico. The shrinking is surely a way to reduce production costs.

Sadly, these figures have less and less sales each year. According to the article I mentioned before, Mexican children are not interested anymore in such an old toy, that hasn’t changed since the times of their grandparents. Of course they prefer more modern means of entertainment, like any other kid anywhere else, but apart from this, new articulated figures are being promoted by different wrestling associations, so there’s no more room for these figures anymore. Most of them end in collector’s hands. Like these four.

FACTS and FIGURES:

• Name: MEXICAN WRESTLERS – LUCHADORES MEXICANOS
• Toy Line: -
• Year: From 1980 on
• Company: Unknown (Mexico)
• Size of the figures: 10 cm approx.